And I
by Ethuiliel
Summary: Kagome doubts her value to the group after a confrontation with Sesshoumaru. kagsessh


Sesshoumaru had another plan to take the Tessaiga. Ransom. _That half-breed brother of mine must have some honor, if he is a good pack leader then he should do anything to keep them safe. Even give up the Tessaiga._

He was not _sneaking_, exactly, no one as grand as Sesshoumaru could sneak. Sesshoumaru walked in concealment alongside the group. He was watching them intently and making note of who Inuyasha seemed most attracted to. The strong miko with strange clothes was the one who he seemed most attached to. _She does hold a slight resemblance to his old mate, but if that is why he is drawn to her then he truly is a fool._

That night, when everyone in the adventuring group was, Sesshoumaru glided towards Kagome's sleeping figure. He slowly lifted her up and held her rather awkwardly, with his one arm. Sesshoumaru took her to another clearing, but not before leaving a letter on her pillow. It said:

_Half-breed,_

_Come and get this bitch._

_Give me the Tessaiga and she will be unharmed._

_This Sesshoumaru will not talk to you where we are._

_You should be able to smell her._

_--Lord Sesshoumaru_

The next morning Kagome woke up to an unusually soft bed and a warm pillow.

"Wha-what?" She sat up and rubbed her eyes sleepily. Finally getting a good look at her surroundings, she tried to stand up, only to succeed in falling on her face. Her knees had been bound together by some kind of magic!

The icy lord of the western land watched all of this with great amusement. When he first saw her sit up, his first thought was of relief. The long night with her head on his tail was not comfortable because he could not move for fear of waking his prize. But when he saw her struggle to stand up, Sesshoumaru couldn't help but to smile just a tiny bit.

When Kagome finally realized that she was being watched, she turned around and saw Sesshoumaru there.

"So you took me!" she said, sounding surprised, but mostly relieved.

"This Sesshoumaru has you in his possession as leverage against his half-brother," he said, his suave voice making shivers run down her spine.

"What do you need the leverage for?" she asked, her eyebrows drawn together.

"This Sesshoumaru has thought of a new way to get the Tessaiga," Sesshoumaru said, growling at her.

"Yessir, but, where is Rin?" Kagome asked, shrinking back into her bed and unconsciously gripping her "pillow" like a child would a blanket.

"That Rin is with Jaken at this Sesshoumaru's castle."

"Oh."

It took extreme self-control to refrain from smiling at the look on her face; that of a child deprived of a lollypop.

"Kaze no kizu!" Inuyasha's attack broke through the canopy around them and Kagome screwed her eyes shut, waiting for the pain to hit, but instead she felt herself rising into the air. Before Inuyasha's attack hit her, Sesshoumaru jumped, or more like _floated_, out of the way, carrying her to safety.

"Sesshoumaru!" he shouted, recklessly sprinting into the clearing.

"This Sesshoumaru will only return what belongs to you if you give what rightfully belongs to me, to me." Sesshoumaru turned his cold gaze to Kagome and pulled her close to him. "I'm sure I could find a use for her."

"No way in hell!" Inuyasha screamed, offended as if _he_ was the one being threatened.

"Then give me Tessaiga." Sesshoumaru held Kagome even tighter, daring his younger brother to do something stupid.

Of course, Inuyasha did not take kindly to his older brother holding so protectively onto something he thought of as his. The Tessaiga pulsed, struggling to keep his youkai blood in check.

"Little brother, you are pathetic. Such emotion on the battlefield will only prove to stunt your already weakened fighting skills. And all of this over one so insignificant just like Father…"

Kagome's protesting "hey!" went unheard as Inuyasha charged at his brother, dropping the Tessaiga in his rage, in favor of his claws.

Sesshoumaru drifted out of the way of his rabid opponent and shifted his arm from Kagome's waist to clamp around her mouth to keep her from screaming out at her one-time crush's red eyes, which emanated with untamed fury.

Wrapping his tail around the small (compared to his seven-foot figure) bargaining chip, Sesshoumaru drew Tokeijin in one fluid motion and held it at Inuyasha's throat.

"Do not attempt to harm this Sesshoumaru, it will not—" Five clawed digits made their way through Sesshoumaru's stomach. Kagome screamed as she watched Sesshoumaru fall to the ground, hardly breathing and in painfully obvious distress.

"Inuyasha! You need to stop! Please, he didn't hurt me, please stop! Just calm down! Inuyasha! Inuyasha!" As Kagome's shouting slowly escalated to an all out scream, her voice grew hoarse, and soon she couldn't cease the sobs that raked through her body at the pungent smell of Sesshoumaru's blood running in streams and mingling with her spilt tears. Kagome kneeled in the crimson fluid that was associated with life, but proved death.

"Stop." Inuyasha halted his insane growling and blinked, looking around the clearing.

"Kagome, wha-what happened? What did that bastard do to you?"

"Shut up Inuyasha. He protected me. That's what he did! He protected me from you, and you killed him!"

"But Kagome, I just—"

"Shut up Inuyasha," she cut him off again. "He is dying and I will _not_ have him bleed to death because you did something stupid if I can help!" She promptly ran over to where the great Taiyoukai was lying on the ground.

"This is bad. Inuyasha, bring him to the river, and be _gentle_. Tell Sango to get Kaede, and have Miroku bring me my yellow backpack. Once that's done, make sure everybody leaves me ALONE!" Everybody was afraid of Kagome right then, she was glowing a little bit and nobody wanted to be on the receiving end of a miko blast.

Shuddering at the quantities of blood, she quickly stripped off the top part of Sesshoumaru's haori. Kagome dug up one of the shirts she didn't fit anymore and dunked it in the icy water.

"Now, I need the burn the infection out of him, where'd that kettle go?" Kagome started rummaging through her backpack until she found what she was looking for. Scooping up the metal pot, Kagome filled it with water and placed in on the fire she made while waiting for her orders to be fulfilled. A shrill whistling sound filled the air when the water began to boil, and Kagome took out the rag, soaked it with hot water, and started to gently clean the tall man's wounds.

"Ssh, keep still, or else it will hurt more than it has to," Kagome whispered soothingly when the Taiyoukai started to wake up.

"Where am I and what have you done with this Sesshoumaru's haori?" he inquired, trying to stare down Kagome from his position underneath her.

"You are at the river a short distance from where you fought Inuyasha. Your haori is right here. It is rather a lost cause, though, no?"

"Indeed. Cease your actions." Kagome just continued to gently dab at his blood-caked chest, not meeting his steely gaze. Slowly the bile was wiped away and his torso wounds were revealed. Biting her lip, Kagome tied back her dark locks and pulled a bandage out of her bag.

"This might sting a little," she warned Sesshoumaru. He managed to keep his face blank as she poured a chemical that hadn't been invented yet onto his bandage and it soaked in. He was indifferent as she rubbed some healing salve into her hands. He struggled to keep his mask on when she patted the mixture onto his stomach and chest. He winced when she placed the bandage on and he muffled a grunt with the back of his hand when she tightened it.

Disgusted with himself for showing weakness to a human, Sesshoumaru glared at the woman who caused him pain.

"What did you do?" he demanded.

"Excuse me?" she asked, "I'm bandaging you up so you don't spill your intestines all over the ground!" She sighed. "Maybe I should have just left you. That way, at least, Inuyasha would talk to me." Sesshoumaru looked at her, surprised despite himself.

"You helped me even though it contradicts your mate?"

"He's not my mate, Sesshoumaru. He's just my friend, and always will be." She very clearly forced herself to smile. "But that's okay. Now, let's get you off the ground."

_He hasn't claimed her._ **_That means I can_**. _But why would I want to? She is a human! A small** compassionate, smart, powerful, and entrancing human**. And that is exactly why—wait, no she isn't! **But she did save me, let's face it. I wouldn't be alive right now if it weren't for her. And she has very powerful miko powers, yet hasn't tried to pacify me.** Yes, actually, for a human she shows a large amount of common sense and knowledge. So why hasn't Inu-baka clamed her? It is clear that she would accept._

"C'mon, Sesshoumaru! There's food at the campsite!" _**At least, before he broke her heart she would have.** He must die.** But why? She is only the most wonderful creature to walk the earth. **Which is why he doesn't deserve her! **And I do?**_

"Sesshoumaru, you need to eat."

Sesshoumaru decided that their evening meal was much more solemn than usual. Kagome and the other two humans made stiff conversation, and Inu-baka kept glaring at him, completely ignoring the poor girl.

And then he smelled…Kagome? How could there be another Kagome? But this second one didn't have the same sweet undertones that his Kagome's (where did _that_ come from?) did. It smelled earthy and dead.

"I'm gonna go for a walk," Inu-baka said, standing up.

The once stiff environment turned static. Kagome winced, Sango looked on sympathetically, and Miroku, usually the calm, even-headed monk, glared at the empty seat by the fire.

"Kagome? Kagome, is Inuyasha going to see Kikyou?" the innocent Shippo asked her.

"I-I think so, Shippo."

_Kikyou?_

"Kags, are you okay? Do you want to go the hot springs?" _Stupid human. It is very clear that Kagome is _not _okay._

"I'm fine Sango." Kagome was working hard to keep the evidence of pain from her face.

"Inuyasha is stuck in the past. Kagome, he loves you, but he can't see that through the traps Naraku and Kikyou have set for him," Miroku spoke up.

"I'll be right back." Kagome fled through the trees, in the opposite direction that Inuyasha and Kikyou were. Sesshoumaru stood up and strode half way through the campsite, turned to glare at the humans and kitsune, and then continued on to speak to Kagome.

"Do you think Sesshoumaru…?" Sango trailed off.

"And Kagome? But how would Inuyasha…?" Miroku countered.

"What?" Shippo exclaimed.

_I see. If that Kikyou wench had been around then Inu-baka would never have come to love Kagome.** But how could he be so loyal to his pack?** Inu-baka is truly a baka. And _she_ is also the reason he has not mated with Kagome. **Yet she would do anything for that half-breed, showing the type of loyalty most demons only wish to have.** The type an Alpha-Female should have._

"Everyone who cares can see that I love him!" Sesshoumaru hid behind the tree she was leaning on, and listened to her despair.

"Am I sure that I love him for the right reasons?

"He's protected me more times than I can count. Even if I didn't love him I owe him my life!" She looked at her knees, tears threatening to spill from her glistening eyes.

"Maybe from demons, but he has hurt me himself more than that.

"But without him what will I do? I'm not strong enough to collect jewel shards myself! I can't do anything by myself, I'm just a burden. But Kikyou can protect herself; she can fight _and_ see jewel shards. Compared to Kikyou, I'm worthless!"

"Compared to that Kikyou wench, you are Kagome and nothing less."

She whipped her head around, ebony hair flailing around her face. "Sesshoumaru! How long have you been there?"

"The whole time, Kagome."

"You shouldn't sneak up on people!"

"You shouldn't try to change the subject." Kagome huffed and turned her head away from him, using her thick hair to hide her shame.

"Look at me," Sesshoumaru demanded. She didn't move, and the heavy scent of depression spiked with fear.

"Look at this Sesshoumaru, Kagome," he said once more, this time gently hooking one clawed finger under her chin and directing her gaze to his.

"That baka doesn't see you, Kagome." His voice was deep and soothed Kagome's rough nerves. She found herself relaxing into his embrace before what he said made its way to her mind.

"Of course he sees me, Sesshoumaru. I hunt for jewel shards with him every day." Kagome found her eyes drooping and a yawn barely escaped chapped lips before he answered.

"Does he really? Or does he see a dead woman? Your qualities and beauty are hidden to him, Kagome. I have met you only several times before, and I understand your power."

Kagome wrenched her eyes open, stiffened in his arms, and threw herself out of his embrace. "Is that what you see me as? _Power?_ Just another powerful miko who can shoot a decent arrow?"

"No!" He momentarily panicked. _That's not what I meant. **She is sensitive about her spiritual power. It has been used against her too many times. Caused people to trick her**_.

"Not in the least," he repeated, this time much calmer. "Not your spiritual power, but your power as a sentient being. To smile, and to make others smile."

"But Inuyasha needs me. I just—"

"As does Rin. And," Sesshoumaru looked up at Kagome, her desperation cracking the ever-present barrio between Sesshoumaru and his emotion.

"And I. I need you."

Dude, that was totally 7 pages. I usually can't write that much

M'kay, that was started a year ago. I revised a little, but most of it is how it was written on paper…Well, I'm happy with it! Are you?


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